Bitter Feelings Reign Supreme Two Weeks After the Game
By "John Jones"

Off-Season 2080 (New York) - It's been two weeks since 'The Fumble', but the memory has not gotten away.

The replay has been seen on television and heard on the radio every single day since the Giants 15-13 overtime loss to the Vikings, when the Giants snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. This play is forever etched in the minds of Giants fans, and might ensure that Joe Porter will likely be remembered in the USAFL for all the wrong reasons.

From WFAN:

'First and fifteen for the Giants after the penalty. Proehl seemed a little embarassed, caught up in the moment as the Giants fans here at the Meadowlands are going crazy. 1:11 to go, 13-6 Giants. Moore lines up behind center, Minnesota still has a couple of timeouts left but it might not matter at this point. Here's the snap, Porter takes the handoff. Porter tries to run through the line. Quick juke.. and Porter loses the football somehow! Singleton falls on it! The Vikings still have a chance! The sidelines, this crowd, they are stunned at what just happened here!'

Porter has been criticized for years about not showing up to play in playoff games. He finished with 102 yards, but he also had three fumbles in a very important game, including this now infamous play. Replays even show Porter seemingly hesitant to take a handoff on the last play of the game, leaving Moore to try to run the football himself.

Sure, blame can be spread all around. Moore probably won't be blamed too much for trying to make a play out of nothing, only to be brought down in the end zone. Where was the defense on third and sixteen as the clock was ticking down near the end of the game? How did the secondary let Tom Davidson, a third string tight end, make a catch in the end zone that could very well be in USAFL lore on it's own? Everything that happened can be traced right to the moment that Porter put the football on the ground for the third and final time.

There are a lot of unhappy people in the Giants organization, from the top, even down to the fans. When GM Joe Malloy responded with a stern 'No comment' and didn't show up for a post game press conference, one can tell things are going to happen. Timm Reeser's voice could be heard loud and clear in the locker room after the game, frustrated that once again the Giants fell short. Porter quickly left the field, rumored to be escorted by police, fearful for the halfback's safety. Porter has not been seen in public since the game. Fans have been calling in to sports radio shows ever since the game, calling for Porter's head and for Malloy to do something to make this team into a Super Bowl contender before the inevitable rebuilding period.

It's time for the Giants themselves to decide the direction this team's going to go in, plain and simple.